The Spokane Falls are Spokane’s most significant natural attraction and the centerpiece of Riverfront Park. For the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the falls have been a gathering place and a source of food and beauty since earliest times. This makes landscape and cultural history part of the same remarkable setting.
Waterfalls from Different Perspectives
From Huntington Park, you can see the lower falls. The Numerica SkyRide offers another way to take in the Spokane River and the Spokane Falls: the enclosed cabin operates in all weather, and the round trip takes 15 minutes. The SkyRide is wheelchair accessible. The viewpoint and the ride offer different perspectives, while the ride itself has a clearly defined time frame.
If you prefer to get around on foot or in a non-motorized vehicle, the Spokane River Centennial Trail offers a different experience. This paved recreational trail is almost 40 miles long and designated a National Recreation Trail. In downtown, it is accessible from most of the streets running north–south between Mission Park and Kendall Yards, between mile markers 20 and 23. The trail’s length and the described downtown access points help put the scale of this offering into perspective.
Gardens and Botanical Collections
Manito Park is known nationwide for its diverse horticultural displays. The John A. Finch Arboretum offers a different way to explore the plant world: trees and woody plants are labeled as a botanical collection for field study. Visitors can experience landscapes ranging from a native pine forest to a shady grove covered in rhododendrons.
The arboretum offers a walking guide for a self-guided tour of some of its collections and notable trees. This gives the visit its own focus: instead of simply taking in different landscapes, you can also shape your walk around the named trees and woody plants. Manito Park and the arboretum thus offer two distinct perspectives on gardens and plants in Spokane.
Theater, History and Art
The Spokane Civic Theatre was founded in 1947. Its annual program includes 15 to 20 plays, musicals and other live events. The venue on Howard Street opened in 1967. If you want to include a performance in your trip, check the specific dates for your visit.
Historic objects and exhibitions offer their own points of interest. The 1909 Looff Carrousel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture has five exhibition galleries highlighting regional history, art and American Indian culture. The historic Campbell House dates from 1898. Together, these themes offer different points of interest for travelers interested in architecture and local history, art or live performances.
When planning your visit, you can therefore think about Spokane in terms of what you want to focus on: waterfalls and viewpoints, a longer paved trail, garden landscapes or cultural history. When looking for a hotel in Spokane, you can first decide which of these sides of the city matters most for your trip.
Discover more destinations: Mica, Spokane Valley, Mead, Nine Mile Falls, Cheney, Liberty Lake, Airway Heights.
Back to the main travel overview: Spokane.
